Chinese music dates to the dawn of Chinese civilization. Documents and artefacts give evidence of a well-developed musical culture as early as the Zhou Dynasty in 1122- 256 BC. Early Chinese music was influenced by the Book of Songs , Confucius and the Chinese poet and statesman Qu Yuan . The music was based on percussion instruments, which later gave away to string and reed instruments.

The Chinese form of Folk Music thrives at weddings and funerals and usually includes a form of oboe called a suona and percussive ensembles called chuigushou . The music is diverse, jolly and sometimes sad.